Method, system and storage medium for providing a cross connect user interface

ABSTRACT

A user interface for managing connections in a communication network cross connect. The user interface provides for creation, viewing and removing connections in the cross connect. When displaying connections, a granularity may be adjusted to allow for effective viewing of connections having high data rates. A multi-layer display is used having at least a coarse and fine layer with granularities corresponding to a time slot resolution. The user interface may include a search tool for locating connections and/or a protection setup routine to facilitate establish protection connections.

This application is a Divisional of application Ser. No. 10/284,667,filed on Oct. 31, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,782,000, and for whichpriority is claimed under 35 U.S.C. § 120; the entire contents of allare hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The invention relates generally to user interfaces and in particular toa user interface for interacting with a network cross connect.

2. Description of Related Art

Optical communication networks utilize a variety of network elements totransmit information from sender to receiver. One such network elementis a cross connect which essentially serves as a switch for establishingpaths along the network. Through a user interface, the cross connectallows a user to create connections, analyze connections and removeconnections.

Existing user interfaces for cross connects have not adjusted to therapid increase in cross connect size. Existing cross connects mayimplement multiple ports carrying data at a OC-192 level (i.e., 192 timeslots). For a 16 port cross-connect, this results in a switch fabric of3072 time slots by 3072 time slots, with sizes expected to increase.Conventional cross connect user interfaces are not designed toefficiently display such a high number of time slots collectively or perport.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will become more fully understoodfrom the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanyingdrawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are notlimitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication network;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary user interface at a first level;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary user interface at a second level;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary user interface at the second level;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplary process for establishing aprotection scheme;

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary cross connection search interface;

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary port search interface;

FIG. 8 depicts an exemplary rendering scheme selection interface; and

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary port operation window.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The following detailed description of embodiments of the inventionrefers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers indifferent drawings identify the same or similar elements. Also, thefollowing detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead,the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims andequivalents thereof.

The invention may be used in a variety of communication networks,including electrical and optical networks. The expression “communicates”as used herein refers to any connection, coupling, link or the like bywhich signals carried by one system element are imparted to the“communicating” element. Such “communicating” devices are notnecessarily directly connected to one another and may be separated byintermediate components or devices. Likewise, the expressions“connected” and “coupled” as used herein are relative terms and do notrequire a direct physical connection.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary communication network 10including a cross connect 20 having a number of ports 22 for receivingsignals and directing signals to other ports through a switch fabric 24.A processor 26 is used to control the switch fabric and a memory device28 stores cross connect configuration data concerning equipment in thecross connect 20 and connections between ports as described in furtherdetail herein. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the cross connect 20carries traffic around network ring 4 referred to as line connections.The ring includes network elements 21 that may be devices such asoptical amplifiers, OADMs, other cross connects, etc.

The cross connect 20 may also provide for adding or dropping connections(e.g., include an add/drop multiplexer) to and from the network ring 4referred to as tributary connections 6. Furthermore, cross connect 20may provide cross connections between segments of a linear network,between different network rings, and may even be part of a mesh networkand cross connect multiple network segments and otherwise serve as anN-degree node. In other words, cross connect 20 and the crossconnections displayed by the invention are not limited to the ring crossconnects illustrated in the example of FIG. 1.

An embodiment of the invention is a user interface that allows a user tocreate, view and remove connections in cross connect 20. The userinterface may be implemented by a user interface application executed bya user system 30 coupled to the cross connect 20 through processor 26.The user system 30 may be a general-purpose computer executing the userinterface application stored in a storage medium 31 accessible by usersystem 30. The user system 30 includes suitable input devices (e.g.,keyboard, mouse) and a graphical display device (e.g., CRT).

User system 30 may be a craft terminal that connects directly to thecross connect 20 (e.g., RS232 connection). Alternatively, the usersystem 30 may access cross connect 20 over one or more networks such asan overlay IP network, an optical service channel of network 10, in-bandsignaling techniques such as DCC or other SONET/SDH overhead bytes, etc.Thus, the user system 30 may interface with more than one cross connect20 at a time. When the user system 30 contacts cross connect 20, thecontents of storage medium 31 may be synchronized with memory device 28using conventional database synchronization techniques. This allows theuser system 30 to perform display and search operations withoutaccessing cross connect 20 for each such function.

The user system 30 executes a user interface application that allows auser to create, view and remove connections in cross connect 20. Theuser interface application uses a layered display process to effectivelydisplay connections for cross connects having a large number ofconnections. In an embodiment of the invention, cross connect 20includes 16 ports and is designed for switching time divisionmultiplexed signals having up to 192 time slots (e.g., STS-192,SDH-192). With 16 ports and 192 time slots per port, this results in aswitch fabric of 3072 by 3072. The use of the layered display processallows the user to manage this large amount of connections.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary user interface generated at user system 30showing cross connections at a first, coarse level. Prior to generatingthe user interface, user system 30 determines a slice value and agranularity in order to display connection information to the user. Theslice value controls the portion of the timeslots to be displayed at onetime. The granularity controls the resolution with which the time slotsare represented. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the slice value is 192meaning that information concerning 192 time slots is presented. Thegranularity is 48 meaning that the time slots are represented in blocksof 48.

The user system 30 may automatically determine the slice value andgranularity by communicating with cross connect 20. The user system 30determines the type of cross connect 20 by communicating with processor26. A database in storage medium 31 may store cross connectconfiguration data such as equipment type, equipment operation mode,number of ports, port data rates and a list of all connections in thecross connect 20. As described previously, the storage medium 31 mayobtain the cross connect configuration data from memory device 28.

Based on the connections formed by cross connect 20, the user system 30sets the slice value and granularity accordingly. For example, for across connect operational at STS-48 or below, all time slots can beshown in a single display. Thus, the slice value would be set to 48 andthe granularity set to 1.

Alternatively, the user may be given the opportunity to set the slicevalue and the granularity. For example, the user may be presented with adialog box and asked to provide the slice value and the granularity forthe coarse display level.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary coarse display depicting all ports having aprovisioned connection, in this example ports P1, P2, P3, P6 and P10.Each port is represented by a number of sub-ports labeled 1-4. The sizeof the sub-port is determined by the granularity. In the example in FIG.2, the granularity is set to 48, with each port carrying up to 192 timeslots resulting in 4 sub-ports displayed per port.

Time slots corresponding to connections are identified through indiciasuch as shading or coloring. Connections between the ports arerepresented by connection lines. Connection line 102 represents anSTS-48 connection between time slots 1-48 of port P1 and time slots144-192 of port P3. Connection line 104 represents an STS-192 connectionbetween time slots 1-192 of port P2 and time slots 1-192 of port P6.

The connection lines may be represented using different formatsdepending on the rate of the connection. In the example shown in FIG. 2,connection line 102 is thinner than connection line 104 to representthat connection line 102 has a lower data rate that connection line 104.The difference in data rate may be represented by formats other thanline weight (e.g., color, line pattern).

Protection connections may also be represented in the user interface.Connection line 106 includes a first portion that is solid and a secondportion that is dashed. The dashed representation indicates that timeslots 1 thru 192 i.e the port P10 provide a protection path for timeslots 1 thru 192 i.e the port P1. This working/protection path may berepresented using other techniques such as color.

To view more detail of cross connections, the user can select a numberof sub-ports ports (e.g., up to four) and choose the details icon 108. Asearch icon 110 allows the user to search for connections as describedin further detail herein.

Once one or more sub-ports have been selected and the details iconselected, the user system 30 shows connections at a second, fine levelsuch as that show in FIG. 3. In FIG. 3, the user system 30 automaticallyadjusts the slice value to 48 and the granularity to 1. This means thata section of 48 time slots of a port is shown with individual time slotsdepicted.

Connections in FIG. 3 are shown in a manner similar to that shown inFIG. 2. Connection lines depict time slot allocations between ports.Time slots associated with connections are represented using indiciasuch as shading or color. Connection lines also depict connectionsbetween ports. For example, connection line 112 shows an STS-1 (i.e.,one time slot used) connection between two time slots in port P1.Connection line 114 shows an STS-3 (i.e., three time slots used)connection between ports P1 and P3. Connection line 116 shows an STS-12(i.e., twelve time slots used) connection between ports P3 and P10. Asnoted previously, the format of the connection lines may be altered torepresent the data rate by using line thickness, line color, etc.

The ports illustrated in the user interface of FIG. 3 do not include anytributary connections such as for tributarys 6 of FIG. 1. FIG. 4illustrates an exemplary user interface where one or more ports selectedby the user includes tributary connection(s) such as tributary ports 1,2, 3 and 4 shown at the bottom of FIG. 4 and including time slots 124belonging to port 1. The user interface of FIG. 4 depicts line port timeslots 120 and 122. Circuit pack indicators 123 and 127 are positionedabove the line port time slots 120 and 122 and indicate the physicalcircuit pack or card providing the time slots. In the embodiment shownin FIG. 4, the circuit pack indicators 123 and 127 identify the slot inwhich the circuit pack providing the port is positioned. Tributary porttime slots 124 are shown offset from the line port time slots.

As described above, line connections and tributary connections arerepresented by connection lines. Connection line 130 represents anSTS-12 add/drop connection between time slots on line port 0 and timeslots on tributary port 1. Connection line 130 also represents aprotection connection (dotted line indicating protection) that protectsthe time slots 120 using time slots 122 on port 0 of another circuit.Connection line 132 represents an STS-1 connection between a time sloton port 0 and a time slot on port 2 along with a protection connection.Connection line 134 represents an STS-1 hairpin connection (i.e., fromtributary port to tributary port) between a time slot on port 2 and atime slot on port 4.

FIG. 4 also depicts a line protection indicator 136 that indicates theprotection scheme for line connections. As shown in FIG. 4, the lineprotection indicator 136 designates that time slots 1-48 of port 0 ofthe circuit pack in slot 1 are protected by time slots 1-48 of port 0 ofcircuit pack in slot 3. As described in further detail herein, once theprotection scheme is designated, the user only needs to select line timeslots and tributary time slots. The user system 30 then assigns theprotection time slots automatically and updates the user interfaceaccordingly.

The user interface of FIG. 4 depicts a toolbar 140 having a number oftool icons that allow a user to perform cross connect operations. Thetool icons launch a variety of tools implemented by the user interfaceapplication.

To provide protection for one or more time slots in a line connection ora tributary connection, the user selects the relevant time slots andselects a protection icon 142. Selection of relevant time slots may beconstrained by certain rules as described in further detail herein.

When a user selects a protection tool icon 142, the user interfaceapplication launches a protection setup wizard that allows the user tospecify a protection scheme. FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an exemplaryprotection setup process. The process begins at step 200 when the userlaunches the protection setup wizard. At step 202, the user system 30obtains the type of protection schemes available for the equipmentinstalled in cross connect 20. Certain equipment or circuit packstypically support certain types of protection schemes (e.g., linear 1+1,BLSR, etc). The user system 30 may determine the available protectionschemes by accessing a database in storage medium 31. The user system 30identifies the type of equipment in cross connect 20 by accessing memorydevice 28. The user system 30 then retrieves the available protectionschemes from the database and presents the available protection schemesto the user at step 204.

Alternatively, memory device 28 in cross connect 20 may contain a listof available protection schemes for cross connect 20. This informationmay be transferred to user system 30 upon a request from user system 30.This eliminates the need for user system 30 to maintain a database ofavailable protection schemes in storage medium 31.

The user selects the desired protection scheme from the availableprotection schemes at step 206 and at step 208, the user system requestsinformation needed to establish the protection scheme from the user.This may entail the user identifying ports and/or time slots that are toserve as protection paths for the selected time slots along with otherprotection scheme-specific information.

At step 210, the user system 30 establishes the protection scheme forthe selected time slots. This includes associating the protection schemewith the selected time slots such that when a connection is subsequentlyestablished using one or more of the selected time slots, the usersystem 30 automatically provisions the protection path in cross connect20.

Add/drop connection icon 144, hairpin connection icon 146 and passthough connection icon 148 allow a user to create these types ofconnections. To establish an add/drop connection, the user selects oneor more time slots from a line port, one or more time slots from atributary port and selects the add/drop icon 144. To establish a hairpinconnection, the user selects one or more time slots from a tributaryport, one or more time slots from another tributary port and selects thehairpin icon 146. To establish a pass through connection, the userselects one or more time slots from a line port, one or more time slotsfrom another line port and selects the pass through icon 148.

If any of the add/drop, hairpin or pass through time slots selected bythe user are associated with a protection scheme, the user system 30automatically provisions the protection connection when the user definesthe working connection. The protection connection is shown in the userinterface with, for example, a dashed line. This facilitates creation ofprotection connections and requires no input from the user once theoverall protection scheme has been established.

To assign enhanced, non-preemptible, unprotected traffic (E-NUT), theuser selects one or more time slots from a line port or a tributary portand selects the E-NUT icon 150. The user system 30 automatically createsthe ENUT timeslot markings on all the appropriate ports. Depending onrules and/or user selection all the appropriate timeslots on all theaffected ports are marked as un-switched.

The processes of defining protection schemes and establishing add/drop,pass through, hairpin and ENUT connections include the user selectingtime slots. This may be performed by a user operating an input devicesuch as a mouse or keyboard. The selection of time slots may becontrolled by one or more time slot selection rules imposed by the userinterface application.

In general, the time slot selection rules control the time slots thatmay be selected based on a variety of rules. For example, if the crossconnect is used for SONET transmissions, time slots may only be selectedin groups of 1, 3, 12, 48 or 192 corresponding to SONET data rates. If auser attempts to select 4 time slots, the user system 30 automaticallyincreases this selection to 12 time slots. Another exemplary time slotselection rule allows the user to select any number of time slots if aport is configured for virtual concatenation in which an arbitrarynumber of time slots may be used to make up a frame. Alternatively, if aport is configured for transparent operation, a selection of any numberof time slots will automatically be expanded to encompass all time slotsfor that port. It is understood that other time slot selection rules maybe applied by the user system 30 to control time slot selection by theuser.

The applicable time slot selection rules may be determined by the usersystem 30 in response to the type of equipment in the cross connectand/or the mode of operation of the equipment. The user system 30communicates with processor 26 in cross connect 20 to determine the typeof equipment and/or the mode of operation of equipment in cross connect20. The user system 30 establishes the time slot selection rules basedon the type of equipment and mode of operation of equipment. The timeslot selection rules may be stored in storage medium 31 indexed byequipment type and mode of operation. Alternatively, the time slotselection rules may be stored in cross connect memory device 28 andtransferred to user system 30 upon request.

The user interface application also provides search tools for retrievinginformation about connections. A cross connect search is implementedwhen the user selects a cross connect search icon 152. FIG. 6 depicts anexemplary cross connect search interface presented on user system 30.The cross connect search interface includes a number of search fieldsthat allow a user to specify one or more search criteria. A rate searchfield 170 allows a user to search for cross connections based on datarate. The rate search field 170 may be associated with a drop down menuthat allows a user to select rates from a predefined list.

A port search field 172 allows a user to search for cross connectionsbased on port identifiers. The port search field 172 may be associatedwith a drop down menu that allows a user to select port identifiers froma predefined list. The port identifiers may be assigned by users whenconnections are provisioned, altered, etc.

A connection type search field 174 allows a user to search for crossconnections based on the type of connection. As described previously,connections may be provisioned as add/drop, hairpin and pass through.The connection type search field 174 may be associated with a drop downmenu that allows a user to select connection types from a predefinedlist.

A connection label search field 176 allows a user to search forconnections based on user-assigned labels. The user-assigned labels maybe assigned by users when connections are provisioned, altered, etc.

A protection type search field 178 allows a user to search forconnections based on the type of protection provided for a connection.As described previously, protection schemes may be assigned toconnections using the protection setup wizard. The protection typesearch field 178 may be associated with a drop down menu that allows auser to select protection types from a predefined list. The differenttypes of protection used may be stored in storage medium 31 to populatethe drop down list.

Once the user has entered search criteria in one or more search fields,the user selects the search icon 180 to initiate the cross connectionsearch. User system 30 searches a database of cross connections storedin storage medium 31 for cross connections meeting the search criteria.As described above, cross connect configuration data from memory device28 may be copied into storage medium 31. The cross connect configurationdata includes connection rates, port identifiers, connection type,connection labels and protection types. The user system 30 retrievesconnections meeting the search criteria.

The retrieved cross connections are presented in a results table 182.The user can retrieve detailed information concerning the crossconnections in result table 182 by selecting a detail icon 184. Thiscauses the user interface application to retrieve information concerningretrieved cross connections from storage medium 31 and display thedetailed information to the user.

The user may also select a display icon 186 to view a retrieved crossconnection from the result table in a graphical format such as thatshown in FIG. 4. The user system 30 determines the suitable slice leveland granularity so that the connection can be effectively displayed. Forexample, if the cross connection has an OC-192 level, the slice levelmay be set to 192 and the granularity 48 so that the entire crossconnection can be displayed. The retrieved cross connection may be shownalong with other cross connections between the same ports. The retrievedcross connection may be designated by a connection line having adifferent color or a different format (e.g., dotted line).

The user system also provides a port search tool that is implementedwhen the user selects a port search icon 154. FIG. 7 depicts anexemplary port search interface presented on user system 30. The portsearch interface includes a number of search fields that allow a user tospecify one or more search criteria A transparency mode search field 190allows a user to search for ports based on the transparency mode of aport (e.g., partially transparent, fully transparent, line terminatingequipment). The mode search field 190 may be associated with a drop downmenu that allows a user to select transparency modes from a predefinedlist.

A transmission format search field 192 allows a user to search portsbased on transmission format (e.g., SONET, SDH). The transmission formatsearch field 192 may be associated with a drop down menu that allows auser to select transmission formats from a predefined list.

A utilization search field 194 allows a user to search for ports basedon utilization of the port. The utilization of a port may be defined ina number of ways. For example, the utilization may be represented bytime slots allocated to connections either as a total number or apercentage of all time slots (e.g., 96 time slots or 50%).Alternatively, utilization may be represented by available time slots,available contiguous time slots or percentage of available time slots.

A port label search field 196 allows a user to search for ports based onuser-assigned port labels. The user-assigned labels may be assigned byusers when ports are established.

A protection type search field 198 allows a user to search for portsbased on the type of protection provided for a port. As describedpreviously, protection schemes may be assigned to connections throughports using the protection setup wizard. The protection type searchfield 198 may be associated with a drop down menu that allows a user toselect protection types from a predefined list. The different types ofprotection used may be stored in storage medium 31 to populate the dropdown list.

Once the user has entered search criteria in one or more search fields,the user selects the search icon 200 to initiate the port search. Usersystem 30 searches a database of ports stored in storage medium 31 forports meeting the search criteria. As described above, portconfiguration data from memory device 28 may be copied into storagemedium 31. The port configuration data includes transparency mode,transmission format, utilization, port labels and protection types forall ports. The user system 30 retrieves ports meeting the port searchcriteria.

The retrieved ports are presented in a port results table 202. The usercan retrieve detailed information concerning the ports in port resulttable 202 by selecting a detail icon 204. This causes the user system 30to retrieve information concerning retrieved ports from storage medium31 and display the detailed information to the user.

The user may also select a display icon 206 to view a retrieved portfrom the port result table 202 in a graphical format such as that shownin FIG. 4. The port would be graphically distinguished from other ports(e.g., highlighted with color).

The user system 30 allows a user to define the format of graphicalrepresentations in the user interface. Upon selection of a legend icon155 (FIG. 4), the user is presented with a rendering scheme selectionscreen such as that shown in FIG. 8. The rendering scheme selectionscreen allows a user to define the graphical appearance of differentcomponents of the user interface and customize the appearance of thecomponents. Exemplary components are listed in FIG. 8 and it isunderstood that the graphical appearance of other components may becontrolled through the rendering scheme selection screen.

Referring to the user interface in FIG. 4, each set of line time slotsincludes a line port identifier 121. Similarly, each set of tributarytime slots includes a tributary port identifier 125. The user system 30allows the user to access port operations by selecting the line portidentifier 121 or the tributary port identifier 125. FIG. 9 shows anexemplary line port operation window launched by the user interfaceapplication when a user selects (e.g., right clicks) a line portidentifier 121. The line port operation window provides the user withaccess to various line port operations. A similar tributary portoperation window may be launched upon selecting tributary portidentifier 125. A circuit pack operation window may be launched uponselecting circuit indicators 123 or 127.

The user interface application may access other tools related tocommunication network 10. For example, the user interface applicationimplemented on user system 30 may include a button to launch a channelmapping user interface that maps time slot allocations across multiplenodes in communication network 10. Such a channel mapping user interfaceis described in U.S. patent application filed concurrently herewith,referenced as Ser. No. 10/284,669. The cross connection user interfacedescribed herein and related tools may use a common rendering schemeestablished through the rendering scheme selection screen shown in FIG.8. This provides a consistent look across multiple tools.

As described above, the user interface application is implemented on aprocessor-based, user system. Thus, the invention may be embodied in theform of a computer program code including instructions embodied intangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, memoryor any other computer-readable storage medium, wherein, when thecomputer program code is loaded into and executed by a processor, theprocessor becomes an apparatus for practicing an embodiment of theinvention. Also included may be embodiments in the form of computerprogram code, for example, whether stored in a storage medium, loadedinto and/or executed by a processor, or as a data signal transmitted,whether a modulated carrier wave or not, over some transmission medium,such as over electrical wiring or cabling, through fiber optics, or viaelectromagnetic radiation, wherein, when the computer program code isloaded into and executed by a processor, the processor becomes anapparatus for practicing the embodiment of the invention. Whenimplemented on a general-purpose microprocessor, the computer programcode segments configure the microprocessor to create specific logiccircuits.

Embodiments of the invention being thus described, it will be obviousthat the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, andall such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art areintended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

1. A method of presenting a layered display representative of connections in a cross connect of a communications network, the connections carrying time division multiplexed signals having a plurality of time slots, the method comprising: displaying a first coarse layer showing connections in the cross connect at a coarse level, the coarse level having a coarse granularity corresponding to a time slot resolution; and displaying a fine layer showing connections in the cross connect at a fine level, the fine level having a fine granularity corresponding to a time slot resolution, wherein the fine granularity has a granularity finer than the coarse granularity; wherein at least one of said displaying steps includes displaying protection lines corresponding to protection connection, the protection lines being distinguished from the connections, and wherein said displaying protection lines includes displaying a protection scheme corresponding to the protection connection.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said displaying steps includes displaying line port time slots at a first position and displaying tributary port time slots at a second position.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of said displaying steps includes displaying an add-drop connection as a line connecting a line port time slot and a tributary port time slot.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein at least one of said displaying steps includes displaying a hairpin connection as a line connecting a first tributary port time slot and a second tributary port time slot.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said displaying steps includes displaying a pass through connection as a line connecting a first line port time slot and a second line port time slot.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said displaying steps includes displaying connection lines having a format that varies with data rate of the connection.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of said displaying steps includes graphically grouping time slots corresponding to a single connection.
 8. A method of presenting a display representative of connections in a cross connect of a communications network, the connections carrying time division multiplexed signals having a plurality of time slots, the method comprising: receiving a search criterion from a user; receiving a request to establish protection scheme; retrieving from a database connections matching the search criterion to define one or more retrieved connections; determining a granularity corresponding to a time slot resolution for at least one of the retrieved connections; determining at least one type of equipment in the cross connect; determining available protection schemes in response to the at least one type of equipment in the cross connect: prompting a user to select one of the available protection schemes to define a selected protection scheme; obtaining information to establish the selected protection scheme; displaying at least one of the retrieved connections using the determined granularity displaying the selected protection scheme in the cross connect.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the search criterion include port, line rate, connection type, protection type, or user-assigned label.
 10. The method of claim 8, said displaying includes highlighting the at least one retrieved connection.
 11. The method of claim 8, further comprising: receiving a request to establish a connection in the cross connect; and automatically establishing a protection connection in the cross connect in response to creation of the connection and the selected protection scheme.
 12. A system for presenting a layered display representative of connections in a cross connect of a communications network carrying time division multiplexed signals having a number of time slots, the system comprising: a display device; a user system operatively connected to said display device and in communication with the cross connect, said user system and said display generation device implementing a user interface for: displaying a first coarse layer showing connections in the cross connect at a coarse level, the coarse level having a coarse granularity corresponding to a time slot resolution; and displaying a fine layer showing connections in the cross connect at a fine level, the fine level having a fine granularity corresponding to a time slot resolution, wherein the fine granularity has a granularity finer than the coarse granularity wherein said user system displaying protection lines corresponding to protection connections, the protection lines being distinguished from the connections, and wherein said user system displaying a protection scheme corresponding to the protection connection.
 13. The system of claim 12, said user system displaying line port time slots at a first position and displaying tributary port time slots at a second position.
 14. The system of claim 13, said user system displaying an add-drop connection as a line connecting a line port time slot and a tributary port time slot.
 15. The system of claim 13, said user system displaying a hairpin connection as a line connecting a first tributary port time slot and a second tributary port time slot.
 16. The system of claim 12, said user system displaying a pass through connection as a line connecting a first line port time slot and a second line port time slot.
 17. The system of claim 12, said user system displaying connection lines having a format that varies with data rate of the connection.
 18. The system of claim 12, said user system graphically grouping time slots corresponding to a single connection. 